Merry Christmas! The God Who Sings

Well, good morning once again as you turn your Bibles, and I'm not joking with this turn your Bibles to the book of Zephaniah. Zephaniah is right in between Habakkuk and.

Haggai.

I'm going to spend a few weeks here before Christmas. Not really how I planned this to go, but as I was praying and thinking about this Christmas season Decided that we would spend a few weeks thinking about some truths from this passage in Zephaniah that I think are particularly Applicable during this Advent and Christmas season.

I want to remind you today. Obviously you can see what's in front of me here, but just remind you today. We are participating in the Lord's Supper as we Conclude this sermon this morning, so this little short series that we're going to do is called sing we now of Christmas.

From a secular standpoint I understand that there's quite a bit of singing that happens during the Christmas season. But what I want to show you is that Christians most of all have a great Reason to sing and so this morning before we take the Lord's Supper.

I want to show you one of the most Remarkable passages really if you haven't seen it before. One of the most remarkable passages in all scripture, and that is this God himself Sings over his people and So the message this morning is simply entitled The God who sings let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word and let's read from Zephaniah chapter 3.

And I'm going to read in verse 14 through first verse 20. But this morning we'll primarily be focusing on verse 17. Let's read this Zephaniah chapter 3. Verse 14 sing aloud. Oh daughter of Zion shout Oh Israel rejoice and exult with all your heart.

Oh daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. He has cleared away your enemies the king of Israel the Lord is in your midst. You shall never again fear evil on that day it shall be said to Jerusalem fear not.

Oh Zion. Let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst a mighty one Who will say he will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with loud singing.

I Will gather those of you who mourn for the festival so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold at that time I will deal with all your oppressors and I will save the lame and gather the outcast and I will change their shame into praise and Renown and all the earth at that time.

I will bring you in at the time when I gather you together. For I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes. Says the Lord let's pray father.

Help us to understand this text rightly. Lord as we begin this time of years we begin this season. We begin the time of advent and expectation. Lord, I pray that we would see the glories of your great name Lord that we would see the the splendors of the love that you have for us so often God we we forget.

This.

Glorious truth of the love that you have for your people the delight that you take in your people who delight in you. Lord we pray that you would just help us to understand this message. We pray the Holy Spirit would convict and challenge and encourage and just all the things that he does.

We confess to you our need for his ministry. What we do here today is in vain without the Spirit. Lord, we pray that Christ is exalted and we pray it all in his name. Amen. You may be seated we consider this passage in the way of Background.

Zephaniah was written during King Josiah's reign. You may or may not remember King Josiah. King Josiah is the last good king of Judah under King Josiah. He's the one that rediscovers the book if you remember that in second Chronicles 34.

There's a brief period of revival under Josiah's reign. But as a whole the nation of Judah is still in need of repentance. And so the book of Zephaniah is filled with the prophetic judgments of God. It's very judgment heavy.

So judgment is going to come upon Judah. Judgment is going to come upon all the nations for rejecting a God that is so good. So holy so Righteous and yet at the end of all of these pronouncements of judgment There is hope and the hope is that God is not done With the world.

He will judge the world to be sure now. I'm not to make light of that in the least judgment beloved judgment is coming. But he has also provided a way of escape in Christ. I'll back up a little bit and read from Zephaniah 3 verse 9 and 10.

For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech. That all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers the daughter of my dispersed ones shall bring my offering.

So what I'm trying to communicate to you is that this hope that is alluded to in the book of Zephaniah is not just about Judah it is for all Nations. So all those who seek refuge in Christ are God's people.

The Restoration of Judah Becomes Hope for All Nations

So this brings us to our text. This text is not merely what I'm trying to communicate to you. Very very quickly here is if the text that we're reading is not merely about the restoration of Judah. Because the text goes well beyond that as much deeper than that.

God is not merely going to vanquish the physical enemies of his people. But he will conquer sin itself for them. He will be with his people in the midst of his people because of his great love for them.

Let's reread verse 17. The Lord your God is in your midst a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice Over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exalt over you with loud singing. Like if this wasn't in the Bible if this was not in the Bible.

This was just written by some guy trying to make money singing a song. Well, you might think it's a little Reckless and it's wordy. How can you speak of our? Immutable Ineffably holy unable to be put into words.

Holy God like this. How can you talk about God as one who sings over his people. Doesn't this make God a little too much like us man? Maybe doesn't this maybe diminish God's glory. And of course the answer to this is a resounding.

No, this text is not making God out to be like a Hallmark movie or a high school crush. This is actually text should leave us all the more in awe and in wonder. God is not fawning over us. He's not writing love notes to you because he's so impressed with all your great qualities and furthermore Unbelievers have no claim to this verse.

This verse is about God's people. Verse 12. But I will leave in your midst of people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord. Listen, what I'm trying to say is if you are not Seeking refuge in the name of the Lord this morning.

You don't get to go around saying well God is just Fawning over me just singing over how wonderful I am. That's not true because his wrath still hangs over you. So I want us to understand this song a little better and so I have four things to examine from this text and the first.

Is this I want to look at the Lord of the song. Verse 17 is going to be our main focus the Lord.

The Lord.

You see that a little bit differently and if you've been here a while and you have gone over this several times when we have preached through Old Testament Narratives but or any passages from the Old Testament that is Lord is there's a little different, isn't it in your Bible?

If you look at that, it's all capitals capital L or D. So, well, why do they do that because they're just emphasizing the name Lord actually know this name is God's covenant name. This is Yahweh. This is the Hebrew word for God's revealed name.

It's important to note that Yahweh does not just mean God the father. Right, so so the Jehovah's Witnesses would try to say that the name Jehovah, which I'm saying is better understood as Yahweh. It's an argument over the Hebrew word, but they say that just means God the father.

But no, it doesn't it means God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit. Yahweh is one God Eternally existing in three distinct and co-equal persons and so as we've already touched on this this Lord is the Holy One.

He is a mighty one who will say the Lord your God is in your midst a mighty one who will say his power. Think about think about the God of this text. His power is limitless. He is all wise all knowing all sovereign.

He is majestic and wonderful. He is glorious and beautiful. He knows all the stars the psalmist says and he calls them by name. I only have five kids and I can't always call them by name. God knows the stars and he calls them by name.

He feeds the sparrows. He clothes the lilies. He is infinite. He has no beginning and he has no end and so every time we see the word he in our text is Referring to this wonderful God He is the Lord of the strong the Lord your God is in your midst a mighty one who will say he.

This God this glorious God Will rejoice over you with gladness. He this wonderful Holy triune God will quiet you by his love. He this star naming supreme.

God.

Will exalt over you with loud. Singing it's almost too wonderful to fully comprehend. In the Christmas season We must be reminded That the true wonders of Christmas is that this God took salvation literally into his own.

Hands.

His plan from eternity past came to fruition as Jesus.

The Word.

Became flesh clothed in human flesh in Mary's womb Born of a virgin lived righteously under God's law died on the cross taking God's wrath upon himself and rose again Victorious over the grave. This is the Lord of the song.

He is mighty to save in.

Christ.

Secondly, I.

Want us to think about the loudness of the song. It's from the text. No, watch. I was not making this up. It's right there in the text. Last part of verse 17. He will exalt over you with loud singing.

Loud singing in the Hebrew is only one word and. So it bears a kind of a connotation of shouting. It's a loud is an emphasis. I Don't intend to make too much of this. But I just want us to know that the singing is not something that God is ashamed of.

Right. God doesn't look at us and say oh wait, well these people over here that I. These these Christians over here. I sing loudly, but you. My song is a little quieter because I'm kind of a little bit ashamed.

No God sings loudly. This this singing is not something that God is ashamed of. It is true. It is true that in the Bible. Sometimes God speaks in a still small voice. But here that is not the case. This is no still small voice.

This is loud singing right and I can't. Maybe it's just because of my fallen flesh, but I can't preach this. Without thinking about the movie elf, right? I'm singing. I'm in a store. I'm singing. We play that game with Stephanie sometimes me and the kids.

And she doesn't appreciate it as much as we do.

The Lord.

Has a loud.

Song.

He sings at volume 11 if you will. He's not ashamed. Because it's truth. God is holy and righteous. And so what he sings is truth. And so why sing it softly? I think there's probably some application.

Although we won't go into this I think there's probably some application for us that when we sing and by the way, I I do think as a church. We do sing rather loudly, but I do think there's application not to sing obnoxiously.

But when we sing the truths of God in the gospel to sing loudly. He said well, why do you think that. Because God sings loudly doesn't he? That's what the Bible says. So the loudness of the song. Thirdly.

I Want to dig a little deeper now and I want to think about the love of the song. Let's read this verse again. The Lord your God is in your midst. This God this eternal God has no beginning and no end.

Whose speaks and galaxies are formed. Who created the angels and men and everything that we see. He's in your midst and we'll talk about this later on in the series. A Mighty one who will say he will rejoice over you with gladness.

He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with loud. Singing. I want to dig just a little deeper here and I want us to think about this question.

Why?

Does God? sing Over his people. Why God sings. Because he delights ultimately in his own Glory. Now, I'll say something that might be a little countercultural To you. Or maybe maybe even perhaps there might even be someone in here and say well I don't know if I agree with that, but just hear me out and let me make my argument from the Bible.

And I will say this God's ultimate delight is not in you. It's not me. It's not enough. It's God's ultimate delight is in himself. Ephesians 1 says that we are saved to the praise of his glory. That's at least three different times in Ephesians 1.

So God really loves his own glory. Isaiah 42 8 says that he will not share his glory With another. His glory is the reason for everything, isn't it? His glory is the reason for creation. Salvation and damnation are all about the glory of God.

But what is beautiful about this reality is that he has chosen us as vessels of mercy to bring glory and honor to his glorious and holy name. Because he delights in his own glory. God delights in those who delight in him.

This is good news.

The Lord your God is in your midst a mighty one who will say he will rejoice over you with gladness He will quiet you by his love. He will exalt over you with loud.

Singing.

Not because you're so wonderful in and of yourself. But because he is wonderful and he has brought us in on his glory to exalt the glory of his name. So I don't mean to lessen your understanding of this verse at all.

What I'm trying to keep us from doing is Keeping it keeping in it. That's hard to say keeping in it. So what I'm saying is God is not writing corny love songs. It's way beyond that. It's way better than that.

I'm gonna get real with you for a minute. I'm gonna tell you something that I know about you that you might not even be willing to admit yourself sometimes. And How I know this is not because I'm some sort of Wise person that God has whispered secrets to me or something crazy like that.

I know it because You're a human. Because you have a sinful nature. You wrestle with this truth. But here's what I want to say to you Christian you struggle to believe as do I? This reality. You are loved by God more perfectly more surely more passionately more profoundly more precisely Than you could ever.

Fathom.

And so quattro, how do you know that I struggle with?

Believing that.

Because that message that reality Frees us from serving sin and so often we still fall into sin don't we and we'll talk about that more. But the emphasis here that I'm trying to make is that God rejoices you over you Christian with gladness.

That's what the tape that's not a quattro sense. That's what the Bible says, right? He will rejoice over you with gladness. God loves your worship of him. Okay, but he doesn't just love your worship of him.

He loves you the worshipper in a way That you're unable to describe sufficiently in words. God sinks over his people. But I hear your objections if God really. If God really knew me. If God knew some of the thoughts that I've had that I'm even having right now.

If God knew my past. If God knew how dumb I am. Sometimes if God really knew my sins. If God really knew my evil thoughts. If God really knew how just foolish in the propensity I have to just mess everything up if God Really knew me.

He would not say I have so many reasons to show God. Why he should not love me. Like he does and you know, what does the text say? He will quiet you by his love. Now some translations render this and maybe you're reading a translation that renders this so the so the Hebrews a little bit ambiguous here.

Does it mean that God will quiet you? With his love or does it mean that he will quiet himself in his love? So so some translations say he will quiet you by his love and some say he will quiet himself by his love.

Well, that's interesting. What could that possibly mean? Well, I have an idea and I think that the underlying point is the same and the underlying point is this. God's love for his people is able to remove Every excuse for his wrath against him.

He can be quieted against him in his love. Why because of Christ completed work in the gospel? Jesus has.

Reconciled us.

Jesus has made enemies friends so God is quieted in his love and that Christ has taken the wrath do our sin away and Then furthermore God quiets us in his love and that you have no excuses to bring to God Anymore on why he cannot love you like he does.

Oh Stop be quiet. You got nothing. You got no ands ifs or buts. To bring to God because he does know you. In fact He knows you better than you know you. You don't even know how many hairs you got on your hips, but God does.

You don't know what's caught you what decisions you're gonna make tomorrow, but God does. You don't know how you respond to this or that situation that makes good. But God already knows that he knows you better than you know yourself and he loves you.

Anyway, so listen church. Don't be so prideful as to say that you know more than God. Let insecurities go. Let your excuses.

Go and.

Rest in the love that God has for his people. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with loud singing all that you've done all that you failed to do.

All that you fall short of all of your sin all of your shame all of your guilt. It has all been taken care of in Christ completed work on your behalf. That's why this is the glorious news of the gospel.

That's why the God this is like a thousand times better than saying the gospel a million a Quadrillion, I don't even have a word infinitely better than saying that the gospel is about you getting rich in this life.

Who cares about that in comparison. To this kind of love that God has gone to full extent. To rescue you from your greatest need. Some people will say what's my greatest need to be rescued from myself.

Well, there's some truth in that in a sense, I guess. Well, maybe my greatest need is I need to be rescued from the power of Satan. Well, there's certainly some truth in that isn't. There's some truth in that but even beyond that.

Who you need to be rescued from is the person who has rescued you. You need to be rescued from the wrath of God. That righteously burns against your sin and it is this God who has rescued you in Christ by his love.

You are more loved believer this morning than you can fathom. Behold our great and glorious God. He loves you. Fourthly the lyrics of this song. Let's read verse 17 again. The Lord your God is in your midst a mighty one who will save.

He will rejoice Over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exalt over you with loud singing. To be honest, we don't know what it wouldn't it be cool like if this had a Verse or course or we just knew what it was that God we so we don't know what it says.

But we know that Jesus says in the New Testament. He says that there is joy from angels in heaven over one sinner who repents. And so there's no doubt that this song contains a testimony of God's grace in the gospel.

The very gospel that we celebrate today as we remember the broken body and shed blood of Christ. I mean one of the reasons that we love singing Christmas songs is because the God that we serve. Sings right and so in this song of God.

He will comfort our morning he will dry our tears. He will rescue us from our trials and all of this is in Christ. You say but my life has not gone the way that I thought it would. How can I how can I really know?

Whether or not God does love me. And what's the answer Christ. Romans 5a. And then why we were still sinners. Christ.

Commended his love for us.

And that he died for the ungodly. There's a great day of judgment coming. But for the Christian our judgment is completed in Christ and we joyfully await his return to bring us into that Celestial city.

God loves you and guess what he even likes you and this changes everything. Doesn't this increase our worship of God this Christmas season Christian? There's no doubt no doubt that God grieves when we sin.

There's no doubt that he disciplines us in his love. There's no doubt that he reproves us when we go astray. We see all of this plainly in the Bible, but you must also consider this truth when you consider God's.

Disposition.

Toward you. What do you see? How is God looking over you this morning? Does it have a. Does he have a scowl?

So.

There's that person again good grief or a.

Rebuke.

This person can't ever get it together. What am I gonna do with them? Does he recount to you all the reasons you're a failure? You know, by the way, here's reason number five thousand two hundred and forty-seven that you just stink at life.

Or or when you consider God's disposition toward you do you consider.

His.

Song he will rejoice over you With gladness he will quiet you. By his love he will exult over you with loud. Singing do you hear? Believer how you are chosen and loved and kept all by his grace. Do you hear how Christ in the song do you hear it this morning?

Oh Christ has defeated every sin how he will vanquish every foe. Do you hear his life and his death and his resurrection? Do you hear that his wrath for your sin is no more. It is atoned in Christ. Therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ none.

Zilch nada. Do you hear how he has redeemed you to be a holy person who walks in obedience in response to his great love for you. If God's love does not motivate us to live holy and Separated lives then we have not understood his love.

Does this song not leave us in awe and wonder. To live gladly and freely in Christ love. To love his word to love his church. To obey him to share this message of Christmas with a lost and dying world.

Let the Christmas message motivate your holiness. Shine your light in this dark world. In this dark days we joke about it sometimes driving the van Travis and I about how darker and darker is getting this time of year and Guess what guys we're still on this side of the solstice.

So Day after day after day, it's gonna get darker and darker and darker, but that is why this time of year is the most Beautiful time for Christmas because the days are getting darker and darker and darker.

Love we can shine our light in a dark world. Christians God loves you live out that reality in closing. I Want to make an appeal to unbelievers in verse 11 God says on that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have revealed rebelled against me.

For then I will remove from your midst you're proudly Exultant once. And you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. Listen, this is a note here this morning for unbelievers. I don't know who you are.

But if you're here and you're settled in your self-righteousness, you are self-reliant uncommitted unconcerned about eternal things. Still dead in your trespasses and sins dead and cold towards God.

Then you have to know that judgment is coming for your sin. We can feel all warm and rosy about the Christmas season. But if you're an unbeliever judgment is coming for your sin, and it will be swift and it will be righteous but hear my appeal in closing there is Refuge in Christ.

There is.

Great mercy in Christ.

If.

You will have Jesus this day. All who come to me Jesus says John 6 37 All the father has given me will come to me and he who comes to me. I will in no wise Cast out. There's not a person who comes to Christ in faith that Jesus cast out.

If you will have Christ this morning in faith Then every word that I've said in this sermon is true for you as.

Well.

But you must repent and.

Believe the gospel I.

Hope you'll do that even now even where you're sitting. We're going to conclude today by singing. Well, I ask that you'll stand and I'll say a prayer and then afterwards we'll participate in One of the ordinances of the church namely the Lord's Supper.

So stand with me. Father, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for the glory of this text Lord. I pray that as a church we would believe what this says. That you will rejoice over us with gladness. You'll quiet us by your love.

You'll exalt over us with loud singing. Lord help us to live out the reality of this God. If there are believers here who are Too proud to believe this text God break them. Break us and let us relish in your great love Lord.

If there are believers here who are weak and struggling with your love God encourage in this morning strengthen them by your love. And if there are unbelievers here who think that you could never love them like this text describes All may they cast that aside and run to Jesus right now in faith, and we pray it all in his name.

Amen, let's sing.